Windows Sidebar Gadget Gallery
Microsoft has launched a very small gallery of Windows Vista Sidebar Gadgets, for installing in Vista Beta 2. It is located at gallery.microsoft.com, and currently has eight Gadgets:
Scribble – a chalkboard for doodling and notes, with or without a Tablet PC
Sudoku
A memory game
Jacks-or-better video poker
A Simon-like game (remembering the pattern of lights)
– 
Jamometer – Seattle- and Puget Sound-area traffic
Sudoku Assistant – for solving Sudoku games easier and faster.
These are in addition to the Gadgets that already come with Vista, but add up to a sad and small number. Considering how light and easy to use the Gadgets are, I desperately want more. After a lot of searching, I found exactly one Gadget to use: a power meter gadget, from Encyclotech. They also have a search Gadget and a Run Gadget. If anyone finds any others, let me know.
I like to run my Gadgets mostly-transparent, so they don’t distract, but can be seen only when I want them. This can be accomplished by right-clicking any Gadget, clicking Opacity, and then selecting a level (I chose the lowest, 20%). This works because the second your mouse passes over a Gadget, the opacity is temporarily turned off. Here you can see them all in action, with some pulled off the Sidebar, as I prefer them:
I’m running the power meter, calculator, CPU meter, clock, Recycle Bin and Post-it Notes. The clock is not transparent, because the style I customized it to, with its neon colors, matches my desktop image perfectly.
Finally, a little Windows Vista Sidebar tip: To show the Sidebar at any time, just hit the Windows key + Spacebar. It will immediately appear over anything, with all the Gadgets. Took me twenty minutes to find that one.
You seem to be having too much fun with Windows Vista, Nathan. Glad to see the shots though.
Comment by Devin | May 31, 2006